We are a national nonprofit creating community-governed real estate where residents face displacement.
We believe a different future for neighborhoods is possible, necessary, and urgent. We’re motivated by supporting neighborhoods suffering from decades of unjust and racist policies
Trust Neighborhoods is an entrepreneurial team implementing the MINT model across the country.
WHAT WE DO
Provide immediate capacity for MINT set-up and launch
Refine and grow the MINT model in response to neighborhood needs
Offer ongoing support, including serving on the MINT’s operating board
Build and strengthen the MINT ecosystem
OUR TEAM
Kavya Shankar
Co-founder & CEO
David Kemper
Co-founder & COO
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Kavya has dedicated her career to building more equitable communities. She helped launch the Obama Foundation, worked on economic opportunity at the Obama White House, and began her career at McKinsey focused on urban development. She has lived in eight U.S. cities, shaping her understanding of diverse neighborhoods. She holds a BA from Harvard and an MBA from Stanford GSB.
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David has dedicated his career to helping create great neighborhoods. At Trust Neighborhoods, he leads operations, team development, and strategic planning. He served in the Bloomberg and De Blasio administrations at Housing Preservation & Development the Department of City Planning, helping create the Division of Capital Planning and $1B Neighborhood Development Fund, and helped launch Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs. David grew up in Kansas City, MO, and holds a BA from Yale, an MBA from Stanford GSB, and an MPP from Oxford.
Ryan Johnson
Managing Director of MINTs
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Ryan brings 20 years of experience in real estate, community development, and entrepreneurship. At New Jersey Community Capital's CAPC subsidiary, he acquired 830 units and completed $124M in development projects. His background spans portfolio management at Madison International Realty ($1B retail portfolio), institutional real estate at Brixmor and MetLife, and community development at Brick City Development Corporation. Ryan holds a BS in Commerce/Finance from UVA's McIntire School.
Natalie Gauger
Senior Associate
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Natalie is passionate about building power and capacity in local communities for place-based impact. In her work, she specializes in community governance, MINT special projects, impact and evaluation, and internal support. She has a BA in environmental studies and urban planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Cali Slepin
Associate Director, MINTs
Olivia Simpson
Senior Project Manager
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Cali is passionate about the role affordable housing plays in supporting neighborhood stability and community priorities. At Trust Neighborhoods, she works closely with neighborhood partners to successfully implement the MINT model. Cali holds a MS in City Planning from University of California Berkeley and a BA in Africana Studies and Anthropology from Oberlin College.
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At Trust Neighborhoods, Olivia leads pipeline development and supports MINTs across the country by blending her housing policy and development experience with a deep dedication to building community power. A proud North Carolinian, she holds a BA in Sociology from Duke University and a MCRP from Rutgers University with a concentration in Housing, Land, and Finance.
Grace Levin
Project Manager
India Solomon
Project Manager
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Grace is passionate about creating and preserving affordable housing and supporting community-led development. Before joining Trust Neighborhoods, she worked with a nonprofit LIHTC developer in Southern California, specializing in permanent supportive housing. She holds an Master in Urban Planning degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from Middlebury College.
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India is deeply concerned about the impact of place on access to opportunity and mutual thriving. India has spent the better part of a decade working at the intersection of affordable housing, equitable real estate development, and capacity building for place-based organizations, focused keenly on maximizing access to resources and reducing waste in the flow of community development dollars. Raised and residing in Detroit, MI, India holds a Bachelor of Public Policy, a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, and a Certificate in Real Estate Development, all from the University of Michigan. She is committed to a life of joy, liberation, and fulfillment, particularly for women of color, and she balances her role as a working artist with the critical work of community development to model the free-spirited life that her work seeks to make more accessible to others.
Kylah Acloque
Executive Assistant, Sundays
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Kylah has over 10 years of experience in project management and partnership strategy. Her background spans experiential marketing, community engagement, and mission-driven programming. She specializes in bringing cross-functional teams together to execute impactful initiatives that strengthen relationships and expand organizational reach. With experience across nonprofits and national organizations, Kylah is passionate about providing organizational support that transforms ideas into strategic action.
Selena Duvivier
Senior Operations Manager
Sam LaTronica
Senior Asset Manager
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Sam has dedicated his career to preserving and expanding access to affordable housing and is passionate about building community power. Prior to joining the Trust Neighborhoods team, he worked as a Financial Analyst evaluating LIHTC acquisitions at Enterprise Housing Credit Investments. Sam has also worked for two different community development corporations in the Boston area, where he managed acquisitions and construction projects and also oversaw property and asset management.
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With ten years of experience across technology, international affairs, community engagement, and data-informed strategy, Selena’s work at Trust Neighborhoods focuses on operational strategy and management, as well as the execution of core administrative functions. She is also the founder of Digital Advancement for All, advancing equitable access to technology for small and under-resourced businesses. Selena holds a Master’s in International Affairs from The Pennsylvania State University, with a concentration in Human Rights and Latino Studies, and a B.A. in International Politics with minors in Spanish and Latin American Studies.
BOARD
Paul Bradley, Chair
Co-founder, ROC USA
Jason Dehaemers
Co-founder, Trust Neighborhoods
Tony Pickett
CEO, Grounded Solutions
David Kemper
Co-founder & COO, Trust Neighborhoods
Miranda Lindl O’Connell
Senior Counsel, Impact Investments, Builders Vision
Tony Salazar
Co-founder, McCormack Baron Salazar
Oliver Rothschild
Managing Director, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
Kavya Shankar
Co-founder & CEO, Trust Neighborhoods
OUR VALUES
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When in doubt, trust the neighborhood. We are a service to the passion, creativity, and potential of residents, to neighborhoods being their best selves. We must be worthy of trust, through the quality of our work and actions.
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We believe staying close to the issues we are trying to address and the people we want to support provides energy and insight.
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Learning makes us better. From our failures. From our feedback. From a diversity of perspectives. From our curiosity.
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Good process creates good. We evaluate ourselves based on the quality and equity of our processes, not just our outcomes.
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We take our work seriously, but not ourselves. We foster lightness and belonging alongside intense ambition. This breeds our creative and open culture, which produces good ideas.